Happy New Year to all! Yeah, it’s almost half a month late, but I have another Word document sitting on my desktop which is a letter which is almost 9 months overdue. Yes, Dear Readers, you got my attention first.
First of all, I apologise for my silence as of late. I took full advantage of being pandered to over the Christmas and New Years holidays, and as such wasn’t required to do all that much cooking of my own. A slippery slope.
Plus, with it being my first New Years of having this blog I decided to do a little bit of introspection and revisit a few of the recipes, as well as reevaluating my opinions of them. I have to say, first impressions truly are the ones to run with.
For example: I’ve remade the BBQ pork buns. Although delicious, they are definitely tiddly to make, and bloody hell (!!!) that dough can be a bitch to work with!
I also remade the sausage and grape recipe from a couple weeks back to take to the New Years Eve party hosted by our friends. Yep. It’s definitely a great party food. Forget trying to pair it with something and make a meal out of it. Amidst toothpicks, cheeses and slices of baguette is where those suckers belong.
We did host our annual New Years brunch, but we do it pot luck style, so other than providing a swine herd worth of bacon (which I assigned the hubby to cook), and having “thaw and bake” croissants from a local bakery, I was free to swan around, be social, and ingest coffee to the point of a small series of anxiety attacks.
Beyond the above, it would seem that I’ve rung in the New Year in a less than celebratory fashion: I’m in a damned rut!
I’ve treated myself to a couple new cookbooks, who now rest on my bedside table, waiting for me to splay their spines wide and bask in their gourmet glory.
Yeah, ummm…that hasn’t happened yet.
Somewhere between Christmas and New Years, I did end up making one new thing which perked my little tastebud’s interest. Savory French toast. I’d like to be able to claim that it was out of a sense of innovation that this recipe was born, but I’d be lying. The truth of the matter being that I think I was in such a sugar overload one evening (2 boxes of Ferrero Rochers and a large Toblerone) that the thought of syrup-laden French toast just seemed like a swan-dive into illness. Also, having depleted resources in the kitchen, but being a huge proponent of breakfast for dinner, this seemed like a good opportunity to branch out.
Savory French Toast
4 thick slices French bread
2 large eggs
1 ½ Tbsp milk or cream
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1/8 cup grated parmesan (optional)
Salt and pepper
Butter
Sliced tomato
Dijon mustard
Beat the eggs with the milk or cream until just blended.
Add parsley, salt and pepper, and beat again until distributed evenly throughout
Stir in parmesan cheese (if using).
Dip slices of French bread in egg mixture (both sides), and fry in skillet until golden brown. Flip and brown the other side.
Spread with Dijon mustard, and top with slices of tomato, adjusting salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with other breakfasty things, or salad.
I realize giving instructions for frying French toast may be offensive and condescending to some, but I’ve received some lovely feedback from culinary “newbies” (Hey newbies!) that they’re literally starting from scratch in their kitchen experimentation. Let’s face it; if you can make a great brunch for friends, then you’ll be hailed as a genius. Get one or two things in the repertoire, and your reputation will be secured despite other limitations.
As my dear Dad always says “if you can’t dazzle ‘em with brilliance, baffle ‘em with bullshit”
…and thus this blog was born.
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